The Warden's Call
by AnarchyWolfie
Summary: Rif Cousland ended the blight and lost the love of his life in one fell swoop. When he finds her two years later he swears he will never allow anything else to get between them. His plans are upturned when he learns of the calling all grey wardens experience. With a vow to return to her, free of the taint, Rif leaves Morrigan behind one last time. Rated M for implied adult scenes.
1. The Dark Ritual

Rif Cousland closed the door to his bedroom with a heavy sigh. Riordan's grim revelation that a Grey Warden has to die to kill an archdemon was a tempestuous storm in his mind as he dropped his daggers on his bedside table. Rif, so caught up in his inner turmoil, almost didn't catch the movement in the dim lighting of the fireplace.

Maker's breath, Rif cursed at his carelessness as he grabbed one of the daggers and pointed it at the intruder.

"Do not be alarmed, it is only I." A familiar voice set the warden at ease and he dropped his dagger back onto the table. Morrigan watched Rif, her captivating golden eyes followed his every movement.

"To what do I owe the pleasure Morrigan?" He asked with a sad smile, remembering how distant she had become after admitting her feelings of love for him just after they rescued him from prison in Denerim. He started to approach her, regardless of how much distance she was putting between them; He needed to hold her for what could possibly be the last time.

"I have not come to speak of sentimental things Warden" the witch held up her hand to stop Rif from advancing. "I came to speak with you. I have a plan you see. A way out...the loop in your hole."

Rif's eyebrows knit together in a frown, surely Morrigan couldn't be talking about the fate of a warden during a blight, the very thing Riordan had only just told Alistair and himself about a few moments ago. Almost as if reading his mind the raven haired witch continued talking.

"I know what happens when the archdemon dies; I know a Grey Warden must be sacrificed, and that sacrifice could be you." Morrigan's disgust at that thought was written on the scowl she wore as she spoke the words. A slight pause in her speech gave her to moment to collect herself, to relax her expression and hide away any weakness she was foolishly showing at the moment. She continued on, "I have come to tell you that it need not be."

"And how do you know this?" Rif crossed his arms, and furrowed his eyebrows. He, an actual Grey Warden, albeit a relatively new one, had only just learned about this ultimate sacrifice that a warden must face during the blight; Morrigan, someone who wasn't a Grey Warden was now telling him she not only knew about it, but how to avoid it altogether- to say his curiosity was peaked would be an understatement.

"I know a great many things." Morrigan reminded him. "How I know is not quite as important as what I am offering you, however. I offer a way out, a way out for all the Grey Wardens, that there need be no sacrifice. A ritual...performed on the eve of battle, in the dark of night." Morrigan was fiddling with her hands, a slight nervousness to her demeanor, something Rif was not used to seeing after a year of traveling with the witch.

"Just what sort of ritual is this?" Rif stroked his long beard in deep thought, was she telling him the truth, was there a way out?

"It is old magic from a time before the Circle of Magi was created."

"Where did you get this ritual from?"

"I got it from Flemeth, of course." Morrigan spoke as if that fact should be obvious. "I have known about it for some time."

"So you knew about the sacrifice before Riordan told me?" Rif was in shock, if Morrigan had known about this why hadn't she told him. Why wait until they were about to march into battle against the archdemon? Morrigan spoke once more, answering his unasked question.

"I did; Would you have believed me if I had been the one to tell you? I have my doubts." Her golden eyes stared into his emerald colored ones, challenging him to disagree, and a quick search of his feelings told him that she was right. Morrigan leaned against his bedpost as Rif sat down in a chair to think about what was being said.

Riordan had said that it was the duty of a Grey Warden to sacrifice themselves to end the blight and kill the archdemon, so would using this loophole mean that even if Rif killed the archdemon, he wouldn't complete his duty? Rif didn't want to die, he wanted to see Ferelden restored. He wanted to return to Highever and give his family a proper burial, and most importantly he still wanted to travel with Morrigan and continue their relationship.

"Tell me more" he finally said, deciding that he was allowed to be selfish. He was eager to hear what this way out was.

Until now Rif had been willing to follow in the footsteps of Duncan, to die in order to help put an end to this blight. Riordan had shattered that willingness by revealing that it was a requirement that a Grey Warden has to die killing the archdemon, not a possibility that it could happen.

"What I propose is this-" Morrigan pushed off from the bedpost and approached the troubled warden. Her smooth slender hands slid around his wrists, gently pulling him up from the chair and towards the bed. Lay with me. Here, tonight. And from our joining a child will be conceived." Morrigan sat down on the edge of the bed, her fingers still wrapped around Rif's wrists. "This child will bear the taint, and when the Archdemon is slain, its essence will seek the child like a beacon. At this early stage the child can absorb that essence and not perish. The Archdemon is still destroyed, with no Grey Warden dying in the process." Rif removed Morrigan's hands from his wrists, clasping her soft hands in his rough ones.

"So the child becomes a darkspawn?" Before he could begin to imagine the terrible fate that child would have to live Morrigan cut him off.

"No not all. It would become something different: a child born with the soul of an old god."

Morrigan hesitated slightly before speaking again "After this is done, you allow me to walk away…" Rif could see the pain in Morrigan's eyes, those beautiful golden eyes now looked almost dull yellow and for the briefest moment they wouldn't meet his own. "..and you do not follow. Ever. The child will be mine to raise as I wish" Her eyes flared with determination as Morrigan met his gaze once more and stared Rif down, daring him to challenge her.

Rif let go of Morrigan's hands, pulling away from her and taking a step back. He ran a hand through his jet black hair, pushing the long, but once short and spiky hairs, out of his eyes- a tell that he was stressed or in thought. He shook his head in disbelief as an accusation rose up in his mind; He knew he would be offending Morrigan by asking, and deep down knew it wasn't true, but he had to ask anyways, if he didn't it would gnaw at him for the rest of his life.

"Is this why you've been so...friendly to me?" His accusation had hurt Morrigan, he could see it in the way her eyebrows knit together, and the corners of her mouth sagged as she spoke again.

"It's ...why I was sent with you by my mother. It's why she saved your life to begin with." Morrigan stood and stepped forward towards Rif, putting her hands into his again. "Caring for you...was not part of the plan." Morrigan murmured just loud enough for Rif to hear her. Just admitting her love was making her ashamed of her weakness, she couldn't have said it any louder than that murmur even if she wanted to. She turned away before speaking once more. "But I cannot let what I feel interfere with what I must do."

She turned back towards Rif, her golden eyes almost shining with pure determination; She would make him see the importance of why he should perform the ritual with her.

"The fact that it may save your life makes me all the more determined to see it done." Morrigan caressed the cheek of her significant other, her words were gentle.

Rif was comforted to know that their relationship wasn't the direct result of her own personal goals, but her actual feelings. He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off before anything could come out.

"Please do not cloud the issue. If you feel anything for me, then accept that that it will make what we must do that much easier." She was playing on his feelings. She knew he loved her and that would be the key that would get him to agree to perform the ritual.

"But will I ever see you again?" Rif knew she said she would walk away forever but he hoped that she was just exaggerating. Perhaps she would leave so that Flemeth wouldn't come after him when she returned, and once Morrigan had discovered a way to get rid of Flemeth for good she would return to him.

"After the Archdemon has been slain?" she clarified, a simple nod from Rif confirming that she was right. "No. No, you will never see me again. Refuse my offer, however, and I leave now." Morrigan was the one to pull away from Rif this time as she turned towards the bed, tightly gripping the post in her left hand. She wouldn't give the damn, foolish, weak-to-love warden the satisfaction of seeing that she was also weak to love and how badly it was getting to her. Her right hand clutched at her breast as her lips twitched, fighting to remain straight-faced. "This is…" her voice faltered for a split second, "simply how it must be."

"How do you know this will work?"

"I do not 'know' it will work. I do, however, have every confidence in my mother's magic." Morrigan turned back around to face Rif, having composed herself. "And so should you." Morrigan was speaking with confidence again. She cupped Rif's hairy face with both hands. Her eyes stared into his, pleading with him to accept. "What is important is that I am offering this to you now. It will work and it will save your life."

Rif sighed and let his arms drop. His eyes closed as he took a moment to think over his two options.

"All right. I agree. I'll do it" Rif quickly made his decision, not that there was much of a decision to make here. Morrigan made a sigh of her own, although a relieved sigh.

"A wise decision." Morrigan slid her hand from Rif's cheeks down his chest and arms to grab his wrists once more, pulling him to the bed again. "Come my love, let us make this last night together one to remember." She whispered into his ear as she pulled him down onto the bed over her.

Morrigan instantly began to claw at the buckles of the warden's drakeskin armor, a light but sad smile broke out on her face as she remembered the battle against the drakes.

Morrigan sent out a cone of cold, freezing around the drake's neck as it snaked out to bite her. This gave her a moment to assess the situation. The group had been ambushed by a small brood of drakes but they seemed to be fairing alright so far.

To her right Morrigan saw Alistair and Buster (Dog) double teaming a drake; Buster bit at the drake's legs, distracting it as Alistair brought drove his longsword deep into the beast, dealing the drake a fatal blow. Morrigan was surprised at Alistair's competence, but she was glad to see that he wasn't a total loss should the worst happen to her warden; It was a cold pragmatic thought in terms of Flemeth's plans, but she didn't like the thought of it at all.

Directly in front of Morrigan, about ten feet away was Rif. His two blades dancing as he deflected tooth and nail of the drake he was currently fighting. He used the young dragon's own strength and weight against it as he battled, directing the attacks where he wanted them to go. Using the speed that had made him so famous in his many battles, he slid in on the drakes next claw attack and sunk his blade into a weak spot- right where the leg met the torso- where the scales weren't quite so hard yet. His blade punctured the beast's lung and it collapsed as soon as he removed the blade.

Satisfied that everything was going okay so far Morrigan returned her attention to the drake that she was battling. Her neglect to finish it off before assessing the situation had become disastrous. Her mouth formed a small 'o' as she noticed that the drake was taking a deep breath to release a stream of fire. The fire was buidling in the throat of the drake, but before the fire could escape its mouth, Morrigan found herself losing balance and falling to the side; A rough hand shoved her out of the way just as the fire jetted out of the mouth of the beast.

She looked up to see the Warden looking at her in concern, a small smile dancing on his lips teasing her that he just saved her life. A mere second later the fire engulfed Rif. The heat of the fire spewing over her prone form was singing Morrigan's skin. As quickly as it started, the breath attack stopped short, the tip of a dagger poking out the drake's eye socket, the handle stuck in the roof of its mouth. Rif stood in front of the drake, his right arm, the one that was no longer holding a dagger was covered in severe burns, but the rest of him looked unscathed. His face, however, was covered in so much soot that he almost looked like he was from the far north, like a rivaini.

"You foolish man!" she hissed at him, ripping out every medical herb she could from her bag to apply to the burnt arm. "Your rash actions could have gotten you killed. Need I remind you that you are not expendable?" she reprimanded him harshly. It took Morrigan's entire stash of herbs, and several weeks of magical healing, from both Wynne and Morrigan, for that damn, foolish, show-boating, lovable duelist's arm to be restored to former health, with a couple burn scars as the only evidence that he had been injured in the first place.

Morrigan would never admit it to Rif, (and he already knew) but she was grateful to him for saving her life, it made her all the more eager to save his life when it came time to kill the archdemon.

Morrigan brought herself back to the present just as she finished unbuckling the armor. She lowered it to the floor slowly. Throwing it aside in the passion of the moment sounded more enticing, but she respected that that it needed to be treated as the masterwork of armor that it was.

Next came his wool shirt he wore under the armor, her nails scratching up his back as she pulled off the shirt. Rif tightened the muscles in his back and his neck and tensed his jaw in response, it was a very pleasant pain. Morrigan tossed the shirt off to the side and smiled playfully at the warden, whose arms were on either side of her head, holding himself above her.

She turned her head and tenderly kissed the burn scars on his right arm, the everlasting reminder of her own folly and his willingness to sacrifice himself for her sake.

"You know, 'tis rather warm in these clothes. I believe I need assistance in removing them." Rif was eager to give Morrigan the assistance she asked for, all but ripping off her sheer clothing and throwing them to where his wool shirt had landed. He admired her form under him as he pulled off the little remaining clothes Morrigan had not removed from him already.

"Before we begin, my love, I told you this was ancient blood magic, so there something to prepare." Morrigan reminded him, grabbing one of Rif's daggers off the table and cut into the palm of her hand. "You do the same, 'tis a very important part of the ritual" she instructed handing the blade to her lover. Once the cut was made her fingers intertwined with his; His blood seeped into her cut and hers into his. She nodded to him indicating that he could begin and she began to speak ancient words in between deep moans, He truly will make this a night to remember, she thought as her moaned incantation echoed through the otherwise quiet halls.


	2. Witch Hunt

The Varterral's haunting death shriek sent a shiver down Rif's spine as he tore his daggers out of the heart of this humongous, ancient, elven monstrosity.

His Face scrunched in pain and his hands flew to his ears, a pitiful attempt to muffle the horrid sound. Beside him, his faithful mabari hound, Buster, was furiously rubbing his head on the ground. Rif could do nothing but watch sympathetically as his best friend tried to drown out the noise as best as he could, a task that was impossible with his superior hearing.

"That is going to haunt us for the rest of our lives won't it boy?" he asked his mabari hound once the death squeal had died down. The dog let out a high pitched whine in response.

"It's okay bud" Rif smiled warmly at his partner, comforting the war hound, scratching Buster's head at the base of the ears just how the hound liked it.

Just behind the corpse of the monstrous, elvish-spider-nightmare creature was the entrance of a cavern. Rif had traveled all over Ferelden, chasing one clue to the next for the last year to find this spot. This cavern was his last chance to find Morrigan; If she wasn't here, he wasn't sure he could keep searching.

The rosewood ring he wore was tingling with a warm sensation on his finger. ' _The ring has_ _never been this hot before, she has to be here'_ he psyched himself up in preparation to see her after she disappeared, just like she promised, after the defeat of the archdemon two years ago.

Buster's ears perked up as he sniffed the air. He barked once and his tongue lolled out of his mouth as he panted happily, looking from Rif to the cavern and back.

"Yeah, I sense her too boy." he smiled wistfully. He knew he was being selfish coming after her. She had, after all, specifically told him to never follow her.

He was absent-mindedly fiddling with the ring on his finger- a habit he picked up over the last 2 years whenever he thought about Morrigan- as he suddenly got cold feet, wondering if he would prefer fighting another archdemon over facing the wrath he presumed Morrigan would turn on him for disobeying her.

His mind traveled back to the battle of Denerim- to the last time he had seen her.

 _Denerim was on the brink of destruction, there wasn't a single building that wasn't on fire. Citizens unlucky enough to escape before the carnage was unleashed ran for their lives in every direction, chased by bloodlust driven darkspawn._

 _Riordan was dead, Rif had seen him fall from atop the archdemon._

 _Sten, Leliana, Buster, Ohgren, and Zevran were scattered to the battle and Rif had no idea what their fates were._

 _The icing on the cake was that Rif's allied forces were failing under the sheer numbers of the enemy. there was no out-powering the blight, the only way to end the madness was to slay the archdemon before anyone else wound up dead._

 _Rif shoved open the doors to the roof of Fort Drakon, where the archdemon awaited the final stand of Ferelden's last hope. Rif looked to Morrigan, "stay out of the battle as much as possible" he whispered to her before turning to Alistair and Wynne to remind them of the game plan._

 _"Alistair will take point, distract the archdemon as best as possible, Wynne will use her magic to weaken the defenses of the archdemon while also bolstering our attacks. Morrigan will perform crowd control, taking out any darkspawn reinforcements that try to flank us after the battle starts. I will be looking for any opening to deal a deadly blow." Having said the plan he turned back to face the final battle. "For Ferelden!" he yelled out a battle cry that was echoed by 2 of his 3 companions._

"' _Tis rather foolish to rile one's self up, a calm head will always prevail over blind excitement" Morrigan huffed, refusing to join in the cry._

' _That woman' Rif smiled to himself and charged the corrupted old god._

 _The plan, of course, went to hell; Wynne was taken down almost immediately- the archdemon clearly didn't appreciate the spells that Wynne had been casting to weaken strength of the scales that protected his vital areas._

 _The next to fall had been Alistair who had managed to put several gashes on the shoulders and chest of the archdemon whenever it turned its attention to Rif, who was weaving in and out of shadows, desperately looking for the spot that a strike would do the most damage. Rif scanned the dragon up and down but the scaly hide was seemingly flawless._ _The archdemon seemed to know that Rif was the most dangerous one but Alistair wouldn't allow the demon to focus on Rif;_

 _The remedy for this annoyance was a simple one: the old one put all of its rage into a mighty claw strike, sending Alistair flying into one of the ballistas, where he collapsed unconscious. Now it was just Rif and this evil in the form of a dragon._

 _The fight was nothing like the battle against the drakes, where Rif could reflect the attacks using the beastie's strength to his own advantage; Any attempt by Rif to deflect these claw strikes would assuredly end with Rif's death and the blight destroying Ferelden._

 _Rif danced and dodged out of the way as quick as lightning, but he was exhausted from fighting his way to the rooftop, and he was getting sloppy. The archdemon was getting in a slash here and a bite there. Rif would have died on the first hit if not for the masterful work of Wade's drakeskin armor- which was barely being kept together by a few strands by that point._

 _One more hit and Rif would be done for._

 _All hopes of winning were seemingly dashed and Rif was ready to give up when the archdemon suddenly roared in pain; a large bolt shattering on the scales at the base of its skull where the skull met the neck. The heavy ballista bolt knocked the scales loose, leaving an unprotected, fleshy opening. Rif looked to where the bolt had come from- the ballista that Alistair had crashed into._

" _Take that you damn scaly bastard" Alistair smirked at the demon._

" _I did not heal you just so you can gloat you fool" Morrigan scolded from just behind Alistair, her hands still glowing a musty, forest green from the healing magic. "Load another shot and take the damned beast down."_

 _Alistair wordlessly did as the witch commanded and sent another bolt at the archdemon, who was now aware of the new plan. The bolt struck true between the eyes of the archdemon, who had turned to focus on this returned annoyance._

 _The archdemon roared again in pure rage as its claw came down on Alistair, the ballista, and to Rif's horror Morrigan._

 _Adrenaline kicked into overdrive and he found his second wind. He sprinted at top speed towards the archdemon as it nosed the wreckage of the ballista, looking for the two that were annoyingly keeping it from finishing this battle, making sure they were dead- that they wouldn't interfere again._

 _Rif used this distraction to run up to the base of the skull, where the first bolt had struck. Rif thrust his dagger as hard as he could into the small, now scaleless area, burying it all the way to the hilt._

 _The archdemon reared in pain from the attack, its head shooting up in a knee-jerk reaction, throwing Rif up into the air as a result._

 _Time slowed to a crawl for Rif as he spiraled and twisted in midair, trying to correct himself into the air. His eyes locked on to the weak spot in between the eyes of the massive creature, just in time for him to make his attack. "You're finished!" He screamed as he brought down the remaining dagger with such force that when it reached the hilt, his momentum popped both shoulders out of their sockets. His grip on the hilt slipped from a combination of the momentum of his free-fall, pain, and sweat. Rif tumbled hard to the ground, pain seared through his legs, where he landed, and spread all the way to his shoulders._

 _Above him the archdemon was flailing, roaring in pain. Blood rained on the ground, covering Rif and the wreckage that housed his companions_

 _Rif's vision flickered- he was quickly blacking out from the dangerous cocktail of pain and waning adrenaline, but he refused to submit to the black void of unconsciousness until he saw some sign that Morrigan and Alistair had survived that attack._

 _He looked to the wreckage praying to the maker, that until just recently he had renounced his belief in, that his companions were okay._

 _A final roar filled the evening sky as the last of its life drained from the archdemon. There was a large explosion of light and energy- the fort rumbled and swayed from the blast. The wreckage of the ballista shifted, whether by the force of the shock-wave or by someone stirring, Rif wasn't sure. Either way witnessing the shifting was good enough for Rif._

 _Having officially seen the end of the blight Rif could no longer hold on to consciousness and the world faded from his sight. He awoke several days later heavily bandaged, surrounded by all of his bruised and weary companions. All of them except Morrigan, of course._

" _Where's Morrigan?" Rif's voice was barely a croak from his several days of unconsciousness._

 _Alistair looked to Wynne, the only other person who had been on that rooftop, with a grimace_

" _Sorry, no one knows" he told the motley crew's leader. "When Wynne and I came to, Morrigan was gone." he fetched a sealed letter from his pouch, "lying next to you was this note, we think it was from her" Alistair placed the note on Rif's bedside table. "We're all glad you're okay." Alistair gave a friendly smile to his fellow warden._

 _Alistair leaned in and whispered into Rif's ear, "you'll have to tell me how you killed the archdemon without sacrificing yourself when you're feeling up to it." Alistair turned to the rest of the group, "come on everyone, let's leave him alone to rest."_

Rif was pulled out of his thoughts as Buster started barking once more and booked it into the cave. His barks echoed through the cavern and Rif couldn't help but laugh at how his pet's excitement mirrored his own.

His heart was threatening to burst out of his chest, it was beating so fast, as he walked into the cavern mouth. Each step further into the cavern doubled the anxiety and excitement he felt the step before.

Rif rounded a corner to see a large glowing mirror, surrounded by towering bones. Just in front of the mirror, a woman was crouching next to Buster, who had rolled on his back getting a belly rub from the slender, dark-haired woman. His breath caught in his throat as her golden eyes met his, one of her rare, captivating smiles on her lips.

"Morrigan" it was only a whisper but it still reached her ears.

"Hello my love"


	3. Witch Hunt 2

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took longer than the last two to get posted. I got so focused on a writers block for the next chapter that I forgot to spend time editing this chapter. I hope to get the next chapter out quicker, assuming I can figure out this damn block.**

A faint purple glow emanated from the newly activated eluvian.

The color washed over Morrigan and the toddler in her arms, those innocent brown eyes staring into hers. Far behind the mother and child, the ancient elven monstrosity-which Morrigan had "tamed" using magic, dating back to when the elves ruled the lands, that she had learned from her mother's grimoire- shrieked its challenge at a new intruder.

There was not a single soul that Morrigan could think of that could find this place, nor would come even if they knew it existed; This was a place that housed nothing for anyone who was not well versed in lore long forgotten to the ages.

' _Well,'_ Morrigan smiled to herself, ' _there is one.'_ She looked at her son, who was looking past her shoulder, towards the cavern mouth

"Dada?"

"I believe you are right little man." she smiled at the child. "I would bet my last sovereign that your foolish, meddling father just activated our guardian." Just to make sure, Morrigan stretched out with her mind, following the trail of magic that connected her to her love through the ring she gave him so very long ago.

It only took a mere moment for her to reach the end of the trail, and sure enough, he was just outside the cavern. Morrigan shook her head with disbelief, ' _The lengths that man goes to to find me even though I told him not to try.' S_ he scoffed at his unwanted persistence. All around her, the rumbles of the cave told her that the battle was still raging on, quite fiercely.

"Try to find me now warden." She laughed at his failure, after coming so close, and stepped through the eluvian.

The place in which she found herself was most curious. All around her were eluvians, almost all of them broken or pitch black-only a few remained looking like they were in perfect condition. Flemeth's grimoire had spoken of how to activate the eluvians and that they were portals, but made no mention of this land beyond the portal.

Only a moment later Morrigan winced as a loud wail began right in her ear; The child in Morrigan's arm suddenly began to slam his little fists against her shoulder, shrieking his tantrum into his mother's ears.

"Why do you cry child?" she asked in exasperation, bouncing him in her arms, desperately trying to calm the fussy child down.

Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to find any kind of safe place to set down her child. Just a few hundred meters away from where she stood was a small clearing where a small cottage sat. Morrigan made haste, eager to fix whatever the small child's issue was.

Every step she took further from the mirror caused the child's tantrum to grow ever louder in her ear, making Morrigan all the more eager to set the child down. Once inside the cottage, which was being overrun with over hundreds of years of wild growth, Morrigan checked the structural integrity of the humble abode.

After a thorough check, Morrigan moved her focus to solving whatever issue was plaguing her child. First, she lifted the child up to smell for a mess, which came up negative.

"Okay, are you hungry little man?" She asked him, presenting her breast to him. The child took no interest in this source of food, instead just increasing his scream to a level that Morrigan had not thought possible.

"What do you want child?" She asked exasperated, her extremely short list of solutions now exhausted.

"DADA!" the child screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Oh." Morrigan was surprised at her son's demand for his father. "You have never met the man, how do you know you want to meet him so badly?" She asked her crying child, whose fit was losing energy; His eyes were drooping and his cries turned into hiccups.

"da..." the little man's mouth opened wide in a yawn, "da." Just like that the fit had subsided and the child had cried himself to sleep.

Morrigan scrapped together a makeshift bed from fresh greenery, straw that was scattered around the floor, and her traveling cloak.

She laid her now sleeping son onto the little bed- now that he was taken care of, and they were safe in this nameless world, she had a moment to think. Kieran clearly had some connection to his father and, if that tantrum was anything to go by, wanted the man in his life.

Morrigan wasn't sure how good of an idea that was, seeing as was constantly on the run from templars, and more importantly, her mother.

Morrigan gazed upon the faint glow of the eluvian from the doorway of the cottage. She was at a crossroads. She could really only see two options. The first option was to allow the eluvian to close and hope once Kieran woke up he would forget why he started fussing in the first place.

The other option was to return to the cavern and see what that stubborn warden wanted, why he had broken his promise. She returned to the room where Kieran slept, watching the sleeping child once more. Morrigan sighed heavily, knowing which option she would choose- it wasn't even really a choice.

A protective ward was placed around the cottage before Morrigan crossed the couple hundred meters back to the eluvian. ' _I'll call this place the Crossroads_ ' she told herself as she stepped through the portal and back into the cavern.

Behind her the portal flickered, it was running out of energy; Morrigan ran her hand across its surface, pouring everything she had left in, keeping it stable for just a little while longer.

A loud bark reverberated off the walls of the cavern, _'Of course he brought the dog with him.'_

She turned to see the large war hound barreling towards her, tongue flapping wildly as he ran. "Well hello to you too, you mongrel." She warmly greeted the mabari, crouching down to pet his belly, now exposed from him rolling on his back.

"Morrigan."

The whisper sent a chill down her spine; Oh how she missed hearing him say her name.

"Hello, my love."

Rif couldn't believe his eyes; He had followed so many leads for so long in order to get here.

So many dead ends that led him to every corner of Ferelden and after so many false leads he had begun to lose hope. His pure determination was the only thing that had allowed him to persevere, and at long last he was now face to face with his missing lover.

He took a few hesitant steps before she stood up and stepped back defensively. "No further please" she said, her hand inches away from the glowing purple mirror behind her.

"One more step and I leave. For good this time"

Rif halted immediately, he had looked for far too long for her to just slip away the second she was in his reach- he would listen to her demands, for the time being.

"Hello to you too, Morrigan." He was watching Morrigan closely, looking for any sign that she was going to slip through the portal, so far she had not yet shown any signs of running.

"I assume you know what this is." A simple jerk of her head told Rif she was talking about the eluvian behind her. "I have gone through great lengths to find and activate this portal. Give me reason and I use it, and you will not be able to follow."

"Then why haven't you left yet, if that's true?"

"I remained because I sensed your approach." Her eyes focused on the ring on his right hand, which sure enough was the ring she had given him so long ago.

"You kept the ring." It was a statement and a reminder, to both of them; For her it was a reminder that he was still a foolish weakling, shackled by the love she tried so hard to keep out of their relationship. _'But so are you'_ came a quiet voice in the back of her head _'you wouldn't have even entertained the notion of coming back to see what he wanted otherwise'_

Rif followed her gaze, looking down to the ring for just a moment before looking back to Morrigan.

"Tell me, why did you come?" Now she was asking the question that was the main reason she chose to come back from the Crossroads.

Rif blinked back his disbelief, he was sure Morrigan understood why he had chased after her.

"I couldn't let it end like that" he remembered the last moments of the battle, the last time he had seen her okay. "You just left, I didn't even know if you survived the battle."

Morrigan just shook her head, he was still the same love sick fool. "And you once argued that love is not weakness" she gently chided him.

"Love isn't weakness!" He argued back.

This wasn't the first time they had performed this dance, choosing agreeing to disagree. That conversation had also been when Morrigan stopped being intimate with him. After that conversation she had always kept him at arms length, until they performed the ritual together.

"My love for you is what gave me the boost I needed to strike the final blow against the archdemon."

Morrigan only laughed cynically at his revelation.

"It's true, I was done for in that battle. When I thought he had killed you, I received a burst of strength and, with the help and Alistair and yourself, I made the killing blow."

"I will never understand you," she sighed, exasperated. "And you will never understand me."

Her statement was a dagger in his back; They had gone through so much together and yet she was just going to dismiss him, after all he had done to find her again.

She had turned back to the eluvian, apparently she was done with the conversation.

"I won't understand unless you help me to." He pleaded with her, desperate for her to take interest in the conversation again.

If she walked through that Eluvian and left him behind, he was sure this would be the last time he would see her. She turned back to him, her eyebrows knitted together in thought.

"I would not even know where to begin explaining"

"Tell me what your plan is," Rif asked the first thing that came to his mind "I want to know."

"My plan is to take the child and prepare for what is to come." She was being rather vague. "Such preparations require both time and power, I am to have both if I am to be successful."

"But what is your plan?" He insisted further.

She frowned at the repetition of the question, Rif could read her face- her doleful eyes- she wanted to tell him more, but she wasn't going to.

"More than that I dare not say, not even to you."

Rif knew better than to beat a dead horse, he would have to relent.

"Okay, fine then. Tell me where is our child?" He asked the next question that came to mind.

"He is safe. Beyond your reach." Her eyes flicked to the side revealing to Rif that his son was beyond that portal.

Rif wasn't sure if Morrigan was revealing all of this extra information through nonverbal means on purpose, or if he just had finally learned to read her that well.

"All you need to know is that he is an innocent baby, he knows nothing of the destiny that lies before him."

Rifs hands curled into tight balls, she was evading his questions. The amount of information she was giving him might satisfy a lesser man, a fool, but despite her enjoyment of calling him one, Rif was no fool.

"That's not good enough!" His rage escaped him as his fist slammed into a large boulder standing next to him. As he pulled his hand away, blood slowly trickled down the rock, he had shredded the skin on his knuckles when he lashed out.

"That's my-"

"Because it is your child." Her interruption was a statement; Morrigan understood his frustration.

"I understand, but I will not share my plan." she reminded him. "Not even with you. If your trust is insufficient, then your anger," she nodded at his blood on the rock, "will have to do."

Rif looked to the rock with embarrassment, it was rare for him to let his anger show like that, and he was never proud when it did.

She stepped forward, her first time in the conversation that she stopped hovering just in front of the eluvian, ready to slip through at any moment.

"If you have no more questions then allow me a warning. 'Tis Flemeth you should beware of, not me. Hunt her if you hunt anyone."

"Flemeth is dead" he reminded her in frustration, trying to get it back under control.

"My mother has tricked her way past death, and more. She is no more finished than I am." Morrigan stopped just out of reach of Rif.

She had pulled out Flemeth's grimoire and was flipping through it. She found the page she was looking for and thrust it into Rif's hands.

"I thought what she craved was immortality. I was wrong, so very wrong."

Rif looked over the page but the words written there were gibberish to him, he couldn't read it. He opened his mouth to speak once more but she kept talking.

"She is no blood mage, no abomination, she is not even truly human." Morrigan now pointed to a particular part of the page, "The ritual was but a means to an end, a herald of what is to come."

Rif was getting lost now, Flemeth was already hard to understand, but Morrigan talking about Flemeth was even worse.

"Why, what is going to happen?"

"Change is coming to the world. Many fear change and will fight it with every fibre of their being. Sometimes, however, change is what they need. Change will set them free"

Rif took a small step forward, and when Morrigan did not step back from his advance, he reached out with his hand, caressing her cheek. Just feeling her warmth against his hand evaporated the frustration he was feeling.

"And is that what you want?" He asked her.

Morrigan, who had leaned her head, almost cat-like, into his touch, scrunched her face in displeasure.

"What I want is," she hesitated on what to say next. That voice in her head that spoke her buried, true thoughts spoke up _'for you, Kieran, and me to live happy, away from all of this'_. "Unimportant."

Behind her the eluvian sparked with energy, her time was dwindling, she needed to leave or else she would trapped on this side.

She had given Rif the grimoire, everything he needed to help him hunt Flemeth, and was now walking back to the eluvian.

Rif seized the opportunity and was right behind her as she walked. When she started to speak again she didn't even bother to turn around. Rif knew this was going to be the end of the conversation.

"I cannot tarry longer, the time has come for me to go."

"Take me with you" the words were out of Rif's mouth before he even had time to think.

Morrigan turned around, surprised by the sudden request.

"You cannot know what you ask" she steeled herself, ready to reject anything that came out of his mouth. "'Twould be better if you stayed. For you. For us both" She stepped backwards, her back mere centimeters from the surface of the portal. She would force their separation if he tried anything.

"I want to be with you, no matter what. I want to see my son, our son, Morrigan. Let me help you prepare for what is to come." he pleaded with her.

Morrigan couldn't believe what she had just heard.

This man- who held the most lofty title in all Ferelden; This man-who came from one of the most noble houses of Ferelden; This man- who was third or fourth (Morrigan didn't care about politics enough to know which it was) in line for the throne; This man- who was the commander of all grey wardens in Ferelden, was willing to give it all up.

He was willing to follow in Morrigan's footsteps for this foolish notion of love.

 _'Yes he is foolish for wanting that,'_ that voice deep in her mind spoke up again, _'but you want it as much as he does. You want Kieran to know his father. You want to experience what Leiliana always spoke of in her stories. You're just too proud to admit it.'_

The voice made sense to Morrigan, if she turned him down now, it would only be because she wanted to preserve her pride.

"...Then come my love," she finally spoke, and put her arms around his neck. She kissed him deeply and pulled him back towards the eluvian. "We will face the future together." She kissed him once more and together, with Buster, they stepped through the eluvian.

 **Special thank you to Greywing 101 for being the first person to review and follow. I appreciate it greatly.**

 **Also thank you to Baby Carlos who helped me grammatically edit this chapter. (I lost the paper with all the edits halfway through though and had to wing it...oops)**


	4. The Crossroads

***Edited to clarify a timeskip**

A sharp wave of cold washed over Rif as he stepped through the eluvian. A heavy shudder ran down his spine at the feeling. Just behind him the purple glow sparked crimson, the color fading until it was nothing more than a regular mirror once more. Rif looked behind him towards the mirror, the world they had just left no longer visible; Instead he saw only Morrigan, his faithful mabari, and himself. He was stuck in this place, but he wasn;t bothered by it in the least, he was with Morrigan once more.

"Having second thoughts already?" Came Morrigan's cold mocking tone. "For shame Warden, I thought your ilk placed more weight in their words." She raised her hands towards the mirror and purple sparks danced on her finger tips. "I suppose if you weren't serious I could just send you back." she threatened. She was out of mana for the day so this was only an empty threat but Rif didn't know that.

"Let's see you try" Rif threatened her back. While he may not have known she was out of mana, he did know, from a year of traveling with her, that bluffs like that were her way of "playing" so he knew calling out her bluff would be the right response. Even still he couldn't help but think about how he would rather face another Archdemon than face Morrigan's wrath.

"Perhaps not." Morrigan smiled coyly and dropped her hand. "'Twould be a waste of energy, knowing you, you'd just find your way back." She took a step forward and beckoned around her, "welcome, my love, to the crossroads."

All around Rif were eluvians, gnarled trees, and some crumbling buildings off in the distance, just out of view. A mild fog rolled along the ground, dancing around his ankles.

Rif was amazed at what he was seeing; this land seemed so ancient, so lost to time. He could not imagine any dangers from Ferelden that would chase Morrigan here, so he understood why Morrigan came here to do whatever she was preparing to do. Next to him, buster looked around, taking interest in all the trees just waiting to be claimed by him.

Rif laughed at his faithful companion as Buster trotted to the nearest one and lifted a leg.

"That _would_ be the first thing you do" he shook his head with a stupid grin plastered on his face and left the hound to finish his business in peace.

He crossed the small clearing to join Morrigan where she had stopped just in front a dilapidated cottage. A large, ancient, gnarled tree stood just beside the cottage.

Morrigan placed her hand on the handle of the door and held a finger to her lips.

"Our son is asleep inside this dwelling. You are welcome to see him, but please do not disturb him," she whispered to Rif. Her eyes caught sight of the drooling hound, now finished with his business, trotting up to the side of his master.

"No barking mongrel," she warned him, "or else you become an outdoor-only dog."

Busters jaw snapped shut

"Good," she nodded her approval at the beast's understanding and pushed the door to the cottage open. She grabbed Rif's hand and guided him down the short hallway and turned the corner leading him to the room that the child was in.

The child was just as Morrigan had left him-sound asleep, sucking his thumb for comfort.

"There he is-"

Rif took a half step into the room, almost unsure if he could believe that he was actually meeting his son.  
From just behind him Morrigan whispered right into his ear.

"-Kieran."

As if learning his name made it all real, the shackles of hesitation that kept him from mobing any closer shattered and Rif quickly closed the the few feet of the room to his son.

He kneeled down in front of the makeshift bed and swept back the golden-brown hair from the child's forehead. Kieran was clearly taking after Rif, whose hair had been the exact same shade when he was a young lad.

A big goofy grin, that only a father could have, spread on Rif's face, he knew nothing of the boy, but he felt pride just looking at him. It didn't matter that he lost out on the first bit of Kieran's life, all that did matter was that he wouldn't let his son go ever again.

"I must admit, your touch is surprisingly gentle for such a hardened warrior," Morrigan whispered as she stepped beside her love. "I almost stopped you from touching him out of fear you would wake him and get him all fussy."

"This isn't the first child that I had the joy of experiencing," his smile slowly faded as he remembered the massacre of his sister-in-law and his nephew at the hands of Arl Howe so long ago. "I was once an uncle"

"Are you not still?" Morrigan asked in confusion. Even from their first day traveling together, Rif had always been an open book to her. He answered any question open and honestly. Despite this he had never really spoken of his life before joining the Grey Wardens; Morrigan had never even thought to ask. She, of course, knew about the incident with Howe in Highever, but she had always assumed that only Rif's parents had been murdered.

Rif only shook his head in response to her question.

"I am..." Morrigan struggled to find the words. She had always been a believer in the idea that only the strong deserve to survive, but no child deserved death at the hands of someone who was supposed to be an ally. "Sorry for your loss."

An awkward, solemn moment hung thick in the air before Morrigan set her hand upon Rif's shoulder and gently pulled him up and away from their sleeping child. "Come love," she whispered softly. "'Tis best not to dwell on such thoughts. I fear any more time spent in here will wake Kieran." She tugged against his stubborn from that almost refused to budge from where he stood, as if Kieran would vanish if his eyes strayed for even a moment. After a moment more Rif finally allowed himself to be pulled away from the room.

Rif's attention, no longer stuck on his son, turned towards the state of the small cottage he presently found himself standing. His tongue clicked as he appraised the condition of this long abandoned domicile. Large roots protruded through rot-devoured floorboards, and thick gnarled vines encroaching from any entrance they could find. The walls themselves seemed to be in acceptable condition, a slight curve inwards, but no sign of the roof caving in on them anytime soon. The cottage was smaller than the room Rif grew up in, back in Highever. Upon entering the cottage, there was a kitchen and sitting area immediately on the right. A quick glance showed that the fireplace was completely untouched by the ravages of time. The sitting area was completely barren of furniture. The original corridor traveled forward by only a couple more meters before turning left heading towards the two rooms of the cottage, one on the left side of the hallway and one on the right. The right doorway led back to Kieran, the left doorway revealed only a broken chair, collapsed bed frame, and a caved in bookshelf, a few ancient, dust coated books sitting, haphazardly thrown on the shelves.

Rif returned to the sitting room where Morrigan awaited him. "Is this to be our home here in the crossroads?" he asked her.

"It is."

Rif sighed as he nodded his head is resignation to the idea. "We have a lot of work to do if we are going to live comfortably here."

Morrigan gave a mocking gasp. "Oh dear, the poor noble has to perform manual labor." she teased him, curtsying extra low to really send home the mockery. "Please forgive this slight against someone of your standing m'lord."

Rif scratched his newly regrown beard (he had kept it shaved after the battle with the archdemon, but traveling across Ferelden while chasing Morrigan hadn't given him much time for grooming). He was considering whether or not she should be forgiven for such a steep transgression.

"Perhaps I could be willing to find mercy in my judgment." He announced, "if..." and he trailed off giving Morrigan a hungry look.

"If?" Morrigan's eyebrow raised in question to his condition.

Rif wrapped his arms around her and started to kiss her neck with heated passion. He savored the long forgotten taste of her skin on his lips. With an evil laugh, Morrigan shoved the warden off of her.

"You think after two long years that you are just owed my body?" she scoffed at him. A sadistic smile played at her lips as her hands traced the curves of her breast, causing clear sexual frustration in the man standing before him. Truthfully, the act of pulling away was just as hard for her as it was clearly making him. She ached to feel him inside her once more, but she would make him work for it. Just a little. She stepped towards Rif, placing a hand on his toned stomach. She leaned in to whisper in his ear as her hand traveled south towards his waistband. "You are just going to have to earn it" she whispered, finishing the statement by biting his ear.

A deep shiver ran through Rif's body, but before he could ask what he had to do, because whatever the condition was, he would do it, a loud scream shattered the sexual tension in the air.

Morrigan cursed under her breath at the timing that son of theirs had. She had the warden eating out of the palm of her hand. Her forehead rested against his shoulder as she spoke, "he calls for you."

"How do you know it's me he calls for" Rif questioned her.

"Call it a mother's intuition" was the reply as she turned him around and shoved him down the hallway. She would keep the fact that Kieran crying for his father was the only reason she had returned to speak with him in the first place.

Rif cautiously approached the screaming child. Several worries ran through his head, the largest one was what if Morrigan was wrong? What if Kieran started crying even louder because a complete stranger was picking him up. He looked back to Morrigan, who was leaning on the door frame and watching with amusement.

"go on" she shooed him forward with her hands.

Rif bent down and picked up his son, who immediately stopped crying when he looked into his Rif's soft, warm eyes.

"Dada" Kieran hiccuped, a side effect of the temper tantrum.

Rif was overjoyed at that very statement. He turned to Morrigan with a huge dopey smile on his face before looking back to his son. "That's right Kieran." He cradled the young toddler close to him, lightly bouncing him in a comforting manner.

"Mama" The child cooed to his mother as she pushed off the door and entered the room.

"I am here little man," she replied, coming up behind her two men. Kieran nestled his face into the neck of his father and drifted off back to sleep, much more peacefully this time around. "I told you so," Morrigan smirked triumphantly as she took the sleeping child from Rif's arms and returned him to his makeshift bed. She took Rif by the arm and forced him out of the room and back into the sitting room.

Their heated moment from before had died with Kieran's cry and Morrigan would make no attempt to revive it.

"Tell me, did you receive the letter I left behind for you?" She inquired.

"I did."

"Then how did you not have your definitive answer on whether or not I had survived the battle?"

In a silent response Rif reached into a pouch sitting on his hip, and pulled out a small envelope. Bends and creases decorated it, but the seal was still intact.

"You never opened it." It was nothing more than an observance.

"I felt that if I opened it, and it was indeed from you, then it would be a definitive goodbye," he reached out almost as if to caress Morrigan's cheek, but dropped his arm before his fingertips felt her pale smooth skin. "As you can tell, I wasn't quite ready for that."

He handed the letter over to her, rejecting its very existence now that Morrigan was indeed in front of him again, and that was not looking to change anytime soon. As the sealed paper touched her hand, the memories of the night she wrote it came flooding back into her mind.

 _Rif was deep asleep, a heavy snore was the only sound that disturbed the peaceful silence of the night. Morrigan sat on the edge of the bed, watching this man whose life she could have very well just saved. She grabbed his rough hand, the one that he had cut open as part of the ritual, and wrapped it with clean cloth she had lathered with healing ointments of her own design. Sure that no one was watching, she kissed his hand tenderly before attending to her own. Once it was sufficiently wrapped she crossed the room and slipped into the chair at the writing desk. She took up a quill and a sheet of parchment, writing out a goodbye to her love:_

 _Warden, My Warden  
When you read this letter I will have left you far behind, in the fallout of the battle with the Archdemon.  
It also means that you survived just like I said you would. This letter is to inform you that the Warden's  
sacrifice is not the only secret being kept from you by your superior. Flemeth also told me the fate of  
wardens who do not die during the blight, or never even experience a blight. You will eventually come to  
face what is known as The Calling. At some point, one that I cannot predict, you will come to experience  
an irresistible urge to find the next old god. If this sounds familiar to you 'tis because it's what the very  
demons you fight also do when there is no blight to occupy their time on the surface. This is because the  
concept of the Grey Wardens is a complete farce. You are no more immune to the darkspawn taint than I am.  
The ritual of the Wardens only slows the progress of the taints corruption. Eventually you will be corrupted.  
Flemeth told me that many wardens choose to spend their last days in the deep roads, fighting the darkspawn  
until they can fight no more, and are defeated in glorious battle. A fitting end for the warriors of legend. The  
alternative is to become something akin to the very thing you fought so valiantly against. To make matters  
worse, I fear you may not have as much time as most wardens do. Flemeth told me that wardens inducted  
in times of blights have the corruption spread much quicker due to the prolonged interaction with darkspawn.  
I cannot give you an exact number, but from what I have been told, you have somewhere between five and  
fifteen years from the time of your induction. I feel I can tell you this now and you will put stock in my words  
because I was right about the ritual we performed this very night here in Redcliffe. It pains me to say this, but  
this is truly goodbye. By the time I am finished with my plans, you will have either long since headed into the  
deep roads, or you will be hearing the call. Accept this goodbye my love. Let me go and make yourself as happy  
as you can, while you still can. Take on another lover, I will not mind, as long as you are happy. Know that I will  
remember you as a man who was truly worthy of my distraction. Know that when our child is old enough to know  
about you, I will pass on many tales of your heroism to them.  
Forever Your Desire  
-Morrigan  
_

 _She sealed the letter with wax and slipped it into her bag. She would leave it for him after the battle. She gathered her clothes and made for the door, intending to return to her own room. She glanced back at the sleeping form of her warden. It dawned on her that they had never slept in the same bed together. They always returned to their own tents or rooms. The slender witch bit her lip indecisively. On one hand, it would be best to just break off clean. The ritual was complete, and so was their relationship. On the other hand, this could very well be her last chance to ever sleep in the arms of the only man she actually loved. '_ You know what want, just do it,' _that quiet, foolish-idea-pushing, unwelcomed voice spoke up in the back of her mind. Morrigan shook the voice out of her head, but listened anyways. She dropped her clothes and pulled back the bed's covers. She crawled in and watched the rhythmic rise and fall of her lover's chest, taking comfort in it. She cuddled up along side him, grabbing his arm and pulled it over her. So this is what it was like, '_ I can get used to this,' _was the final, sad thought before Morrigan fell asleep.  
_

Morrigan was just staring at the letter. "So you never opened it." It was a statement more than a question. The fool still didn't know of the fate that stood before him. a small flame sparked to life in the palm of her hand, igniting the letter. "You're right, 'twas only a final goodbye, completely useless now that you're here." She wiped the ashes of the letter on the hem of her dress as stepped away from Rif. There was no reason to rob him of his happiness, as short term as it might be. "Now, enough of this talk of goodbyes. You are here and that doesn't look to be changing soon." The raven-haired witch was looking around the hut as she spoke. "Let us focus on the task at hand and get this home in livable conditions.

-several years later-

The small family found themselves staring at the purple face of another eluvian, different from the one they had used to enter in the crossroads. Just in front of Rif, Morrigan completed the spell to connect this portal to its corresponding one, wherever in Thedas it was. Far behind him and out of sight was the grave they had to dig out for buster, old age finally catching up to the faithful dog.

"Come love, 'tis now or never." Morrigan chided him as he looked behind him, saying his last goodbye to his best friend of fifteen years.

Morrigan and Kieran were the first to step through the mirror, Rif followed right behind them, the cold feeling washing over him for the first in four years

Pain stormed through Rif's head as he stepped into his world once more. He hadn't even seen where he was before the pain flashed white in his eyes, then black as he lost fell to the ground, shouting in pain. The last thing he heard before the pain overtook him were the worried cries of his child and the mother of his child.

 **So I'm a terrible promise keeper. I promised this 2 weeks ago, so I am sorry about that. I was really struggling with a specific part of the chapter, to the point I ended up cutting it entirely. I may reference it in flashbacks later, but we will see. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy. Once I finish up the final paper for my class I plan to start transferring the next chapter from my notebook to my doc. I honestly don't have a window of when I plan to release that, but please look forward to it. -Wolf**


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